Skilled talents are everywhere. Thanks to the advancement of technology and internet, geographical boundaries should no longer limit your talent pool. When you cannot find the right candidates from local area, then you can always hire global talents without having to fly them to your countries. By offering flexible working arrangements and allowing your employees to work remotely, you cannot only upgrade your talent access and expand the business, but also save company’s operational costs such as travel expenses and electricity bill.

Encouraging employees to embrace remote work culture is also proven to be beneficial for the business productivity. As employees are given freedom and authority to work in an environment they are comfortable with, you can see more productive and happier employees working with you. Great majority (90 percent) of remote employees are satisfied with their current jobs and keen to work remotely for the rest of their life. Among the reasons why people opt to remote working is because they are not bored with repetitive tasks or unchangeable atmosphere at work. Employees are most likely to experience more when they work outside the office.

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However, managing remote employees and keeping their productivity high is another challenge. With no supervisor around, there are good chances that remote employees might slack off from time to time. In this case, here are essential tips you need to know before hire remote employees.

01 Communication is a must

There is no doubt that communication is the key to smooth employee management, especially when it comes to managing remote workers. Unclear direction and miscommunication often results in lack of productivity and poor performance. As your employees are not in the same room as you, it might be difficult to keep your eyes on them all the time. Therefore, it is crucial to establish an open communication with the remote team.

You should make sure that your remote employees do not feel left behind. You can use platforms such as Skype or Slack to keep in touch with them. During a discussion, make sure to present them appealing visuals such as graphic or diagram so they know what you really expect from them. Initiating chit-chat about their personal life can also be a way to know them better and make them feel appreciated in the team.

02 Set goals and provide feedbacks

Another important thing is that you should always set goals for remote workers. This will help them cope with their lack performance. Besides setting certain targets, you should also give them feedbacks on their performance so they can improve to be better. Feedback is important tool to improve and motivate your remote workers.

03 Track their work

Managing telecommuters’ tasks is not as easy as it might sound. You might or might not know if they really work on your project diligently. Therefore, tracking their time means a lot as you don’t want to pay them for nothing. You can use tracking system specifically designed to track remote employees’ productivity such as HubStaff.

Nonetheless, when you do this, do not make your employees feel like being controlled and under high pressure. You should give them flexibility to work on their own as they choose to be a remote employee for a reason.

04 Be responsive

A great leader learns to respond to their employees when they really need his help. Being a responsive employer will make your team members feel safe and secure. You should make them feel that you are with them even when you are busy. You can set an automatic reply so your remote employee know that you will reach them later. As best as possible, you should treat your remote workers like you interact with your in-house employees.

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